Vernon Dodd - Hired Killer

By George M. Goodwin

Conceived in violence himself, Vernon Dodd would live his whole life and die in that same kind of violence by his own making.

From his years as a long range shooter during the Civil War to his days as a hired killer in the west.

Many men died by his hand and the one who would finally stop him would not be expected by Dodd or anyone else.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pale Horse Publications
• Release date: May 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227438218

George M. Goodwin

George was born in 1960 in Jefferson County Alabama. The fifth of nine children, eight boys and one girl. The family was raised poor, but not poorly raised. At home, George was taught morals, ethics and respect. Reading, writing and arithmetic at school. Love, honor and obedience to God at church. He grew up on John Wayne movies, country music and the writings of Louis L' Amour, Robert Louis Stevenson, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.  

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The hard truth was that Erskine and Ernestine were not really a couple at all. They were actually brother and sister and Erskine was not Vernon’s father. Their relationship would never cross the borders of being siblings. The horrible actions to them both as children aboard the ship bringing them to America had driven them to a promise.

That they would stay to together and take care of each other always. They were friendly to others but would never again trust in strangers. In 1843, their parents had left Germany with the two of them to start a new and hopefully better life in America.

A month at sea, both of their parents took ill with fever and within a week they were dead.

Leaving eleven-year old Erskine and ten year old Ernestine alone on a ship full of strangers headed for a country they had only heard of through their father. This was not a passenger ship with other families aboard. All their father could afford was to work as a crew member himself on a freighter to pay the passage for of his family. Another crewman on that ship was a huge sailor known only as Borski to the rest of the crew. He was a beast of a man, often fighting with the other sailors and was very abusive both physically and verbally to everybody on board. After their parents died, Borski had set his sights on young Ernestine. The fact that she was only a child seemed of no matter to him. The first time he came for her Erskine tried to stop him.

CHAPTER 2

He fought with everything in his small body to fend him off, but the big man beat him almost to death. Then he took Ernestine somewhere private.

Later, as he passed by in the hall, he opened the door to their small quarters part way and dropped her limp little body on the floor. Erskine crawled over to his sister believing her to be dead. For two days, they both lay there on the floor of their tiny room without food or water. Neither of them in any condition to go for help. On the third day Erskine was finally able to walk enough to go to the galley to ask for something to eat and some water for the both of them. Another sailor saw that the boy had been beaten and stopped him, asking what had happened. Young Erskine broke down and told him everything that had happened. The sailor raced from the galley and two days later, Erskine learned that the sailor had went to Borski and confronted him with what he had done to the children.

The argument turned into a fight and Borski had broken the other sailor’s neck with his bare hands. When word of the sailor’s death reached the captain, he called Borski to the wheelhouse and asked him what the fight had been about and why he felt the need to kill the other man. The captain was told it was none of his business and that unless he wanted the same thing to happen to him, he had best sail his ship and leave it be. The captain knew he was no match for the hulk of a man standing before him. Not alone anyway.

CHAPTER 3

Borski was allowed to leave the wheelhouse without reprimand, at least for then.

That same evening, Borski came again for Ernestine. As much as he loved his sister, Erskine was still too weak from the last beating to even offer any resistance. All he could do was beg the giant not to hurt his sister. Before Borski brought her back this time, Erskine managed to get to the captain’s quarters and told him the whole story and that he had his sister again right then. That night as he slept, the captain took six of his best men with him and went to where Borski lay sleeping. Before he could wake himself enough to fight them off they had him tied up and dragged him to the upper deck.

The captain cited no particular charge against Borski saying only for crimes committed aboard the ship, not wishing to put a light on what he had done to the children. As captain he said, it was his duty to sentence the man Borski to death by hanging for the senseless murder of a fellow crewman.

The rest of the crew knew about the sailor he had killed and the captain figured it was nobody’s business what had been done to the little girl.

A rope was thrown over a yardarm and the captain watched as a noose was put about his neck.

Have you any last words? he asked Borski.

Go to hell, was all the giant man said. With a nod of his head, the barrel was kicked from under him and the captain watched as he was hanged.

CHAPTER 4

From a doorway leading below deck so did a young boy and his sister. Afterward, they were taken below to eat, two crewmen took down the body of Borski and heaved it over